Gay Artists Stand Out in Alternative Cities to L.A and New York

Season , Episode | Published On: August 29, 2017

Gay Artists Should Consider Alternative Cities

It’s hard for any artist, including gay artists, to stand out in saturated cities such as L.A. and New York. That’s why these gay artists moved to Denver, an alternative city, to stand out from the crowd and avoid high production costs.

Gay Artists in Denver

“It really comes back to the story… You get to tell people’s stories—that don’t usually get to be told.”

Listen to Gay Artists Thriving in Denver:

Gay Artists Summary

Rachel Herring Finley is the lead actor in Carlos Daniel Flores’ short film I Stand Still, an abstract piece built around an original poem that explores the love between two women. Part of Denver’s own CinemaQ Film Festival this past July that highlighted local and national gay artists, the short pays tribute to the victims of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, reminding us to “allow ourselves some joy and respect our truth, whatever that may be.”

Born in Puerto Rico, Carlos was exposed to music and the arts from a young age. Film direction satisfies his “desperate need to express” himself and allows for experimentation via the medium itself. He recently moved to Denver from Florida and is inspired by the energy and creativity of the city. Rachel has a degree in opera and musical theatre training from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, but she returned to her home state of Colorado to perform in local professional theatre.

Carlos and Rachel met through the Denver theatre community, and today they share the process of collaborating on I Stand Still, discussing the organic nature of the project, what it was like to film in Denver and the connections between the Pulse shooting and the film. Listen to their advice for aspiring actors and directors, and learn the value of supporting the arts and gay artists in our community!

Topics Covered on Gay Artists

Rachel’s long journey to performing in film

Degree in opera

Trained at AMDA in New York for musical theatre

Returned to Denver

Involved in theatre, met film community

Fell in love with film

How Carlos came to be a director

Born in Puerto Rico

Father is musician

Love of all arts

Realized possibilities of film as medium

Rachel’s affinity for acting

Singing cultivated love of performance

Love of story

What drew Carlos to directing

Desperate need to express self

Loves all aspects of filmmaking

Need to actively create something

The background of the short film, I Stand Still

Part of series

Film built around poem

Ambiguous, abstract form

Subject ties into Carlos’ process of accepting himself as bisexual

How the actors in I Stand Still improvised the central argument

Involves two lesbians arguing over hidden relationship

Original plan was to ad lib argument, audio wouldn’t be used

Drew from big moments in past relationships

Difficult to film, but turned out beautifully

Shows how similar we all are in relationships

The amazing experience of filming in Denver

Carlos recently moved to Denver

Loves city, beauty of the mountains

Not oversaturated with industry people

Struggle to find other creatives

Feels like no rules yet

Project was very small, didn’t need permits to film in public spaces

The art scene, gay, straight and otherwise in Denver

Carlos appreciates energy and creativity

Acceptance of all forms has come alive in last decade

Investment in murals, street art

How the Pulse Nightclub shooting affected Carlos’ creative process

Doing sound design, composing music for I Stand Still

Shooting made it difficult to continue

Ultimately finished film as tribute, dedicated to victims

The connections between the Pulse shooting and the film I Stand Still

Personal connection for Carlos: Clock tower at end as body count

Broader analytical connection: Accept your truth, whatever it may be

Rachel’s process for building a character

Usually pull from personal experience

I Stand Still required actors to build characters as they went, organic experience